Elastic surface exposure wrapper for soap cakes

ABSTRACT

This disclosure relates to an elastic wrapper for cakes of soap which leaves uncovered a portion only of the surface, this uncovered or exposed portion being the only area which can be wetted when the cake of soap is being used. The elastic wrapper is made in such sizes as to stretch over standard sizes of soap cakes, inserted into the wrapper through the opening, and its use results in greatly extending the service life of the contained cake by keeping dry all but a sufficient surface area for applying soap to a wash cloth or directly to the hands or other area of the body being cleansed.

United States Patent 1 1 1111 3,886,987 Schuchman 1 1 June 3, 1975 [541 ELASTIC SURFACE EXPOSURE WRAPPER 3,578,051 5/1971 Hammon 150/52 R FOR SOAP CAKES FOREIGN PATENTS OR APPLICATIONS [76] Inventor: Frederick E. Schuchman, Gateway 708,960 7/1966 Italy 401/88 Tower's. Pittsburgh, Pa. 15222 550249 12/1922 France 401/88 498,950 1/1954 Canada 150/52 L 1 1 Flledl P 20, 1973 144,160 6/1902 Germany 401/88 Related Appmafion Dam Primary Examiner-Herbert F. Ross [63] Continuation-impart of Ser. No. 246.355. April 21, Attorney, Agent, or Firm-Wm. Henry Venable 1972, abandoned.

' [57] ABSTRACT disclosure relates to an elastic pp for cakes [51] Int. Cl 865d 65/02 of soap which leaves uncovered a portion only of the [58] F'eld Search 150/52 401/88 252/93 surface, this uncovered or exposed portion being the only area which can be wetted when the cake of soap [56] Rem-megs cued is being used. The elastic wrapper is made in such UNlTED STA ES PATENTS sizes as to stretch over standard sizes of soap cakes, 1,380,388 6/1921 Kaufman 252/93 inserted into the wrapper through the opening, and its 1.830383 11/1931 Bos 150/52 L use results in greatly extending the service life of the 1,854,800 4/1932 Lowenfeld 401/88 contained cake by keeping dry all but a sufficiem sur- Kane fa e area for soap to a wash cloth or 2,319,847 5/1943 Clapton... 150/52 R to the hands or other e of the body being cleansed. 2,699.80) 1/1955 Nehe 150/52 L 2,731,056 1/1956 Anson 150/52 R 1 Claim, 2 Drawing Figures IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII ELASTIC SURFACE EXPOSURE WRAPPER FOR SOAP CAKES CROSS REFERENCE TO A RELATED PATENT APPLICATION This application is a continuation-impart of my prior patent application Ser. No. 246,355 of the same title, filed on Apr. 21, 1972, herewith abandoned.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The object of my invention is to greatly reduce the wasting of soap used in cake form, and greatly reduce the water pollution from soap in waste water. This is accomplished by use of a wrapper made of an elastic, water-impervious material in the form of a pocket into which the cake of soap is inserted, leaving exposed for wetting, as by a wash cloth, only a portion of one side of the soap cake. My wrappers are made in a size and of rubber such as is used in making rubber bands thus rendering the wrapper adaptable to fit snugly around one side and all the edges of all of the standard sizes of commercially available soap cakes. The cake is inserted through the pocket opening and the wrapper stretches sufficiently to admit the entire cake through the opening. The inside surface of the elastic wrapper is preferably smooth to contact the entire outside surface of the cake of soap contained therein, except the pocket opening. The outside surface of the wrapper is preferably rough to serve as a scrubbing means for the surface being washed and also to prevent slipping in the hands of the user.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING The drawings illustrate the wrapper of my invention stretched over a soap cake for use.

FIG. 1 is a view facing the pocket opening and FIG. 2 is a section at the plane IlII in FIG. 1. The drawings are not to scale and the thickness of the wrapper is greatly exaggerated for clarity of illustration.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION As illustrated in the accompanying drawing, my invention is an elastic wrapper 10 for soap cakes 9 exposing only one side surface 9(a) of the cake for use in the cleansing operation. The rest of the surface of the cake being covered by the wrapper. The wrapper 10 is in the form of a pocket having on one side an opening 11, somewhat smaller in area than a side of the cake of soap placed therein. The wrapper is made of an elastic, water impervious material such as thin sheet rubber, slightly smaller in size than the cake of soap so that it fits snugly around the cake, and the opening is preferably made with a circumferential beading 12 around its edge to reinforce the opening edge of the thin material and cause the edge to fit snugly all around the exposed surface of the cake of soap within. The reinforcement of the edge by the heading 12 serves the dual functions of sealing of admission of water to the interior of the wrapper l and thus preventing softening of the unexposed surface of the soap cake 9, and of increasing the strength of the edge of the opening in the wrapper to reduce the possibility of tearing the thin rubber sheet.

As shown in the drawing, the combined area of the sheet rubber covering as stretched about one side, the edges, and part of the exposed side of the cake of soap 9 is greater than the area of the opening 11 bordered by the stretched beading. This is insured by proportioning the areas of the unstretched sheet material of the pocket to the unstretched perimeter of the beading 12 such that the maximum area about which said unstretched beading may be a perimeter is substantially less than the total surface area of the said unstretched sheet material.

The outside surface of the wrapper 10 is preferably roughened where it fits the sides and ends of the soap cake 9, as by ridges 14, and the surface which is opposite the opening 10 is preferably provided with rubber teeth 13 to constitute a scrubbing surface and provide a means for dislodging tough stains. The inside surface of the wrapper 10 is smooth to provide substantially uniform contact with the surface of the soap cake 9 about which the wrapper is stretched, thus to prevent moisture from seeping onto the unexposed soap surface.

The wrapper 10 is preferably made of a very thin elastic and easily stretchable material so that the same wrapper may be used on a variety of shapes and sizes of cakes of soap. This material is preferably natural or synthetic rubber of texture and properties similar to that used for very flexible rubber bands, thereby accommodating a wide variety of sizes of soap cakes 9 in one size of my wrapper 10. The wrapper 10 made of such material and constructed as above disclosed holds the soap cake l0 smoothly without creases.

As marketed, a number of wrappers 10 are flattened and bundled together as a roll or as a stack for easy removal one at a time from the package, each wrapper being peeled from the bundle. The wrapper It) assumes the shape of the soap cake, as illustrated by the drawings, in service, and shrinks as the volume of the soap cake is reduced by consumption of soap. From time to time, the wrapper may be removed and the soap cake turned over to expose opposite sides at the opening 11.

The term elastic as used herein does not mean resiliant", in the sense of bouncing or springing back to its exact original shape. Such property of springing back to an original shape is important, and indeed critical, in plastic protective covers having a predetermined shape, such as the rectangular box shape of the resiliant cylinder cover disclosed in Hammon U.S. Pat. No. 3,578,071, for example. In contrast, my wrapper I0 is essentially shapeless until snugly stretched about a soap cake 9.

In use, a cake of soap 9 contained in my impervious wrapper l0 lasts much longer in service, without any diminution of the amount of soap not actually used for cleansing in each use, than a cake exposed on all sides as ordinarily used, or as contained in a cage-like holder such as disclosed in Clanton U.S. Pat. No. 2,319,847, for example. The wrapped cake is used by applying the exposed surface 9(a) to a wet wash cloth, or directly to surface to be washed, and the exposed surface of the soap may be wetted by applying the cake to the wetted surface of the body in the normal manner for using caked soap. Only the exposed surface 9(a) becomes wetted in such use and when placed in a soap dish or wire soap holder in a shower-room, there is no noticeable drainage or deposit of dissolved soap because most of the cake is protected by the wrapper of my invention. Thus my wrapper greatly reduces pollution due to soap in waste water and greatly increases the life and usefulness of the soap.

I claim:

sheet material, the surface of said pocket sheet material being continuous and unbroken except for said opening, the inside surface of said pocket sheet material being substantially smooth, the said outside surface being rough, and an elastic bead integral with said sheet bordering said opening. 

1. A protective wrapper for soap cakes consisting of a pocket made of thin, elastic, very thin flexible, non self supporting, shapeless water impervious, imperforate sheet material adapted to be snugly stretched over, and to assume the shape of, various sizes of soap cakes; the said pocket having an opening therein of maximum area, when the pocket is unstretched, substantially less than the total unstretched surface area of the pocket sheet material, the surface of said pocket sheet material being continuous and unbroken except for said opening, the inside surface of said pocket sheet material being substantially smooth, the said outside surface being rough, and an elastic bead integral with said sheet bordering said opening. 